Chapter Sixteen

 

Ed was waiting for Wiley, and as soon as he walked through the door, he led him back to his small office where Ursula was waiting. The young waitress that he remembered well lowered her head in relief at the sight of him. Wiley assured them that unmarked, undercover agents were surrounding the diner in different locations, incase Ursula had been followed. Ed left them alone in his office.

“Now, Ursula, let’s start from the beginning,” he said. “You said that you know where Ryan Quinn is, correct?”

She was nodding her head before he ever finished the question.

“I didn’t know, I swear to God, I didn’t!”

“Okay, okay,” he said, calming her, “like I said...from the beginning. I think we can help each other, here, Ursula. You need to trust me, right now, all right?”

She nodded her head again and took a deep breath.

“I am a clairaudient, Agent Wiley,” she said. “I have been for most of my life; it is an inherited trait that runs wild in my family. I attend the university, and for a while, I’d been thinking of inquiring into its paranormal investigative society. It was something I kept putting off, you know—I felt really weird about it, about myself, and my ability. One day last week, I almost stopped there, but I passed it up, walked to my car, and left.

“Then a few days later, this limousine approached me as I was walking on campus, and this guy—he knew about me, knew what I could do, knew about my thoughts. To make a long story short, he offered me money to be part of what he called ‘psychic’ or ‘paranormal’ research, something or other. He was a clairaudient also, and he spooked me when I realized that, that day, he’d heard my thoughts about approaching the society, as if he was listening, watching.

“But still, I was desperate for the money. I agreed, but I swear I had no idea what he was really doing.”

“You’re doing great, Ursula,” he said. “Look, I know this guy you’re talking about. His name is Roman Hadley; am I right?”

Her mouth opened in a mixture of surprise and relief.

“So, you know?”

“We’ve been tracking him and his group for years, and Ursula, you are the first known person to have seen Roman Hadley; you should be extremely proud of yourself.”

“He introduced himself as one of the university’s benefactors,” she said, then went on to describe him after Wiley asked. “Medium height, dark hair with streaks of gray at the temples, you know, salt and pepper, dark eyes, handsome man, actually, but creepy, very creepy.”

She went on to detail how she was instructed to attend to the subject; one of her duties was bringing him his tray. She’d assumed that the subject was a grown man, having entered the research facility on a voluntary basis, until she discovered that it was a boy of about twelve. Yesterday, she’d realized that the boy had been kidnapped and that Hadley was, in fact, a telepath.

“When I confronted him, he threatened to make me look like an accomplice.”

She told how she’d decided to try to rescue Ryan, as well as herself, from the underground nightmare; she described the notes, then the phone calls from people who she’d assumed were his superiors, and how Hadley started to become nervous.

“That’s what I want to know, Ursula. Did you ever see anyone else there, while you were there?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head and needing no time to think. “Only the two guards, Hadley, and the boy.”

“Only two guards?” He asked, incredulously. “You never saw anyone else there? Anyone ever come to the compound, maybe someone you’ve forgotten?”

“Nope, those guards were the only ones that I saw. No one ever came there, but Hadley did speak on the phone several times. It was after one of his conversations that...” She took a deep breath as she broke off, then her voice began to quiver. “I heard bits of a whispered conversation, remotely, that is. It was Hadley’s voice, and another man’s; they were talking about me, about how I would have to be dealt with. I got away from there, as fast as possible, and that’s when I came here and had Ed call you. I saw a maroon-colored Sedan following me before I even got out of that part of town. It was close behind when I turned into the lot, but now it’s not out there.”

Then Ursula pointed out the location on the blueprints that he showed her.

“Ursula, you did great, and I assure you, with your help in finding Ryan, no one is going to charge you. You’re a victim here; we know that.”

She looked as though at least a half a ton of weight had been lifted from her shoulders, leaving an uncertain other half to remain.

Just then, Ed opened the door, showing Leah, Brett, and Dylan into his office.

* * * *

Wiley introduced them though no introductions were needed for her benefit; Ursula was well familiar with who they were.

“There isn’t time to discuss details, not now,” Wiley said. “But Ursula knows where Ryan is, as well as Hadley. She’s going to lead me and my backup there.”

“I know where he is also,” Leah said, describing in detail the incident in Susan’s office and confirming the description of Hadley that Ursula gave.

“Okay,” Wiley said. “I want you two girls to stick together, so you both can ride with me. Guys, this could be dangerous, so I want you to stay safe and some distance behind my backup when we’re on the road.

“From what Ursula has told me, there were only two guards at all times in the compound. My backup is going to storm the place as soon as Ursula directs them where to go. Then, I want you girls to stay as close to me as possible—got it? Like I said, this could be dangerous; we are unsure what to expect. I want you all to remain alert, and guys, I want you parked behind the backup vehicles when we get there, waiting for the girls when I send them back out.

“By the way,” Wiley said, looking around, having missed a certain absence. “Where is Dr. Logan, I thought she was going to be here?”

“She needed to stay behind with Sidney,” Dylan said. “We aren’t sure what the issue was, but he wanted to see her.”

“Just as well,” Wiley said. “Let’s just hope that issue wasn’t about Ryan.”

Then he rolled out the blueprints and pointed to the spot that Ursula had shown him, going over quick instructions and order of procedure.

“Let’s do this quickly, silently, and pray no one gets hurt. Remember, the FBI is in charge here. When I tell you to stay close, or move away, or get back to your vehicles, you do it, understand?”

Issuing his final instruction, Wiley radioed his backup before leaving the office, and then the four of them calmly walked out of the diner, careful not to rouse attention.

* * * *

The maroon-colored Sedan sat in an alleyway a hundred yards north of the small diner, perched high atop a winding hill that provided a bird’s eye view of the location. The well-trained eye of the unknown driver noticed two distinct cars park in two different directions of the diner, conspicuously, as neither driver exited the vehicles.

“Unmarked?” The equally mysterious passenger asked.

“Definitely unmarked,” the driver replied.

“The agent is now leaving with the girl. We must leave here, quickly but casually. It is over; our time at this location is up. If Hadley is to survive, he must evacuate now.”

The passenger retrieved a cell phone from the inner jacket pocket of his black suit, and pressed a single speed-dial button.

* * * *

Hadley was becoming antsy, pacing and fidgeting at the feeling that stirred inside him, like time was running out. He felt like there was no need to go through the same cycle over again with the boy, poking and prodding, hoping to extract the tiniest piece of information that would satisfy the others. His only intention now was to obtain the information from Ryan that was vital to his plan; where was Susan Logan, right now? Hadley had searched, listened with his own clairaudient ear, and failed.

He also planned to discover whether or not Ryan was capable of that same strange ability that he, himself, had stumbled upon while in Foster’s captivity, the act of telepathic intrusion. He remembered well how he gazed into Caleb’s mind, picturing his thoughts and stealing his mental images while the Herculean brute fought hard against the invisible intruder. Caleb lacked the mental capacity to fight what he knew was happening, and so a seizure caused his hemorrhaging brain to collapse and expire. Sidney Pratt had been unaware that he was fighting such an intruder, therefore escaping the same fate as Caleb.

Now he sat across from Ryan at a small table in one of the rooms. Ryan was smart and capable for his age and fully aware of what he possessed; Hadley felt sure that it could be done this time, successfully.

As soon as he had a fixed location on Susan, he would flee here, abandon this place, and end this wretched identity. He would leave the boy here, safely, and then he would find her. After all these years, he would find her. He couldn’t allow any distractions now, especially from the sinister ship from which he was about to mutiny. Now, he was in charge. He turned his cell phone off, as well as the satellite phone and video monitors, the quick alternatives since cell usage became limited throughout this vast underground.

“Ryan, I want you to look directly at me and focus with your telepathic mind when I speak to you,” he said.

Ryan’s face was hard, insolent, but he complied.

“Where is Susan Logan, right at this moment? Can you hear her?”

Ryan continued to stare bitterly at him then lifted his head up, his eyes casting a fixed gaze, his clairaudient ear searching through the silence. No sounds came to him.

“I can’t hear her; I’m not hearing anything, right now.”

“Ryan, try to focus; this is important. I’m asking you to search with your telepathic mind and utilize your clairaudient ear to hear any sounds. Try to merge your abilities, make them one.”

Hadley’s voice was urgent, impatient.

“Try again, Ryan. What about the others, the team? Where are they?”

At this point, Ryan failed to budge at the slightest hint of intimidation or pressure, his stare now protesting in apathetic abandonment.

“I told you; I don’t hear anything, right now.”

Hadley fixed an intense gaze into Ryan’s eyes. He pictured his own mind and the boy’s mind co-existing together, his intuition merging with the boy’s thoughts and mental images. He closed his eyes and saw the smaller brain, and then something quick like a camera flash showed him a mental picture of the underground itself, then the room where Ryan had been kept. Another flash changed the scene, and he saw the image of them both at the table where they sat.

The next instant flash brought with it a bright, magnificent light, a pure painful whiteness that made his eyes wince. Then an image of a young man filled his mind. He tried to open his eyes, to react, to shake himself from the telepathic reverie, but could not.

The young man with the greenest eyes he’d ever seen encapsulated the vision, his reddish-brown hair and blustering shoulders seemed menacing even from the distance of another world. The threatening upward glare of the deep, sage green eyes stared as though they were pointing at Hadley, who now wriggled in the chair, trying to wrestle himself away from the frozen hold.

That same intuition he’d often felt, especially today, told him that the young man was Ryan’s father; he kept coming closer and closer with those eyes that never blinked and pupils that grew larger and larger, enough to swallow his mind. Hadley let out a cry of pain that roused him out of the telepathic trance that had subdued him.

He felt numbness all over, and he steadied himself not to fall out of the chair as sleeping muscles sought to awaken. The daze of a dizzying spell left him aware, but out of touch, and he glanced up to see Ryan’s expression change to one of surprise and automatic concern.

The boy was staring at his face, and through the numbness that began to lessen, Hadley felt a hot, wet stream trickle down his nose and settle upon the edge of his upper lip. He touched it with his fingers then pulled them away—blood.

“No,” he said, placing all of his weight upon the chair to slowly rise. The chair slightly slid from under him, nearly dropping him to the floor, but he balanced it and steadied himself upright. He wiped the blood from his nose with his sleeve and looked around, disoriented.

Ryan watched as Hadley slowly shuffled his feet in an uncertain direction, searching around, as though he was missing something.

“Mr. Hadley?” Ryan addressed him in question mode. The only response that Hadley gave was a brief exhale of fatigue, and then he murmured a name...Susan.

* * * *

The passenger in the maroon Sedan had tried several times to reach Hadley on his cell phone; he was not answering the calls. The mysterious passenger had no luck with the satellite phone either. One of them had to be answered at all times.

“Perhaps he’s already vacated,” the driver said in a lifeless monotone.

“Those were not his instructions,” the passenger said. “Besides, he is unaware of what is taking place. We must leave immediately; we cannot save Hadley or the boy now, if they’re still there.”

The passenger retrieved a small gadget, much like a cell phone in appearance, from the opposite inner pocket of his black suit and touched a few buttons.

“The computer systems will initiate the explosive self destruction sequence.” The eerie voice of the passenger was similar in tone to that of the driver, yet older. “In exactly thirty minutes, the entire compound will be annihilated to bits and pieces, whether Hadley and the boy are there or not. Hadley has finally become a weak link; we must cut our losses...”

* * * *

Hadley was pacing back and forth, lost in minor confusion that was just enough to make him lose time. He pulled his cell phone out, turned it back on, and fumbled trying to close the screen that showed two missed calls, not that it mattered anymore. He attempted to place a call but only stared at the screen in confusion, then looked around him, his eyes gazing agog into the distance. Who would he call?

Suzy Q.

The nickname he remembered well, but he didn’t have her number. He knew that—the fog was making him forget. He looked over at the boy, whose concern was now tinged with growing fear, seeing the blood from his nose spotting the floor in droplets. Hadley looked down at it and remembered Caleb.

So, he was now the aggressor; how did this happen? He wished he would have died in an effort to get out of here, but he didn’t. The money was fantastic; he had never wanted for anything. His every need, every whim, was served to him on a platter. There had also been the fear, the fear of returning home with the realization that he was not the same person anymore, one way or another. Their continuous threats to his family, and also to Susan, became overwhelming. His life would have been over if anything had happened to them because of him.

He looked back at Ryan. How could he have wanted the same thing for this innocent child, to suffer the same existence as he had? His ability was a curse, and no one knew better than he did, right now. The boy was too young to realize it yet.

“You must leave here, Ryan,” he said. “You must go.”